Differences between Instagram Stories and Reels and how to use them - June 2021 edition. (2023)

Despite appearances, Stories and Reels have very little in common and are often verydifferent. Whether you're a brand, an artist or just a content creator for yourpersonal account, there are a few things to know about using Stories and Reels wisely.

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To begin, let's take a look at the main technical differences between Reels andStories.

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Difference #1. Display

This is the main difference between Stories and Reels: the Story format is an ephemeralstatus pinned to your profile picture. The Story is a concept that allows you to tell thestory of your day using video, photo or a post, as much as you want for 24 hours.

The Reel remains a creativity-driven single video that will be displayed in the feed as apost (which you can share as a Story as you would a post).

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Stories

When a Story is available, a red circle surrounds the profile picture of the people youfollow at the top of the screen (image 1). A simple click launches the video. Stories arevisible for 24 hours only (image 2).

You can save your Stories on your profil in a Highlight every single time. You will find themabove your posts on your profile, round thumbnails (image 3).

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Reels

Reels from people you follow appear in your feed as a post and are recognizable by the playsymbol at the bottom left of the video (image 1). A simple click launches the video.

You can also find Reels via the Explore tab - magnifying glass symbol - (image 2).

The Reels you create will remain visible on your profile in the Reels grid (central button)and in your general grid (left button) if you have checked the "Also share toFeed" option. (Image 3).

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Difference #2. Format

This is probably one of the main difference between Reels and Stories. Initially Stories weresynonymous with videos exclusively. Soon, Instagram expanded the range of options to allowsharing other content such as written posts and business links (for pro accounts only forthe moment). This difference makes the Story a broader sharing format for content whileReels remain a video-only format.

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Difference #3. Lifespan

Even if we can pin our Stories on our profile to make them accessible after 24 hours, we willsee in the sharing options that this aspect is a determining factor when choosing between aReel and a Story according to the use cases.

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Difference #4. Length

As we saw in the "Display" section you can post as many Stories as you want during24 hours. Each Story will have a maximum duration of 15 seconds while a Reel can go up to30.

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Difference #5. Editing

When it comes to video editing, Reels is the best. It offers additional video editingfeatures to allow you to create more sophisticated videos than with the Story editor. Thesetools allow you to slow down or speed up clips, trim content and align or "stitch"videos for smooth transitions. Like the audio options we'll see below, the Reelsfeatures encourage creativity while the Story editor features emphasize immediacy.

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Difference #6. Audio

For your Stories (photo or video) or your Reels, you have access to all the available musiccatalogs. Whether it is a Story or a Reel, you can illustrate your clip with the song ofyour choice by picking the part you like. Reels goes further: if you create several clips(within the 30 seconds limit), the editor will consider your clips as a single video and themusic you choose will be played automatically and without any break between your differentsequences. If you want the same song to continue on the next clip in a Story you will haveto go back to the music bank to find the song and then tune it by ear, which can be fun orvery very boring.

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Difference #7. Draft

As we've seen, improvisation and immediacy are the DNA of Stories, which is also why youcan't save a draft Story in Instagram. But there's nothing to stop you fromshooting your clips with your favorite camera app to do your edits and then schedule thelaunch of your Stories. Reels are more elaborate videos that can be saved as drafts to bereworked. You will find your drafts in the Reels tab of your profile.

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Difference #8. Caption

The ephemeral status and format of the Stories does not allow to add a caption like on theposts. However, the Story's logic of immediacy allows for liking and commenting asdirect messages via Instagram messaging. Reels are creations that are displayed like classicposts. They are more sophisticated and are made to last and be seen again and again,that's why you can add a caption. Like a post you can comment and like them.

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Difference #9. Gif - Sticker

Story or Reel, no difference here. In addition to the cosmetic enhancement tool and the different filters available, youcan add GIFs, stickers, write a message or draw freehand.

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Difference #10. Hashtag & Mention

Reel or Story, you can mention (@) people as well as add hashtags. However, you'll havea hard time finding Stories through hashtags whether your account is private or public.Indeed, unless you pay for Instagram to propose them beyond your circle of friends, theStories are intended to be seen only by your followers. Regarding mentions, the onlydifference is related to the format: for Stories, these mentions will be on the visual(photo, video, post). For Reels, you can add them at the end of the process in the caption,exactly like for a post.

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Difference #11. Placement & Share

The Story is something that you share with your followers, a group of close friends only orindividually via Instagram messaging. And it makes sense: why would people who don'tknow you be interested in how you walk your dog or what you have on your plate at lunch(unless you are Will Smith starting a diet).

As a creation, Reels are like posts and are meant to be discovered. That's why they canappear on the explore tab (public accounts only). Like a post too, they will remain visibleon your own Reel feed and your general Insta feed (to your followers only for privateaccount). You can also share your reels as a Story, which means that your reel will beaccessible as a Story, via your profile picture thumbnail.

Public or private, you can't re-share other people's Stories but you can re-sharesomeone's reel as a Story (public account only).

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Difference #12. Engagement

Public or private account, the Story is something that you share with your followers, a groupof close friends only or individually via Instagram messaging. And it makes sense: why wouldpeople who don’t know you be interested in how you walk your dog or what you have on yourplate at lunch (unless you are Will Smith starting a diet).

With a public account, Reels are like posts and are meant to be discovered. That’s why theycan appear on the explore tab (public accounts only). Like a post too, they will remainvisible on your own Reel feed and your general Insta feed (to your followers only forprivate account). You can also share your reels as a Story, which means that your reel willbe accessible as a Story, via your profile picture thumbnail.

Public or private, you can’t re-share other people’s Stories but you can re-share someone’sreel as a Story (public account only).

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Public VS Private account

Private Stories & Public Reels

You can create Stories and Reels with a public or private account. It all depends on yourgoals when making this choice. A private account is not intended to make you known beyondyour followers. In this case, hashtags will not be useful for your Reels and even less foryour Stories which are meant for private viewing. If you're creative and looking for anaudience, regardless of your activity or status, a public account is all you need. Reels areincreasingly highlighted by Instagram in the explore tab when you have a public account. Here is a tool toautomatically generate relevantkeywords for your Reels (and posts).

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Free Reels & Paid Stories

Generally speaking, in the case of a public account, the Reels will allow you to grow youraudience for free and the Stories to feed it daily and to nurture your relationship. You canhowever create paid campaigns to promote your Stories which will then be suggested todifferent audiences according to your activity and your objectives. Your Story ad willthen be inserted between the personal Stories of profiles chosen by Instagram according toyour criteria and affinities.

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Tips

Get new followers

Instagram's algorithm loves consistency. Feeding your accountregularly is very time consuming, which is why we created Pictalio.

1. Join the community by sharing yourmost beautiful vertical videos. Each use of your videos on Instagram by third parties willincrease your visibility and consequently your audience.

2. Start testing your Stories and Reels now by downloading free vertical videos here.

3. Check this 10 expert tips on how to use Instagram Reels to reach new followers.

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Use Reels Editor for your Stories

The Stories editor is quite limited for creating more sophisticated videos, especially fortransitions and audio. Don't hesitate to use the Reel tool to make beautiful videos!You can then save them as a draft in your profile (or in your smartphone) to make edits andeven to plan the release of your Stories. Later is great at this!

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Instagram new feature

‘Recently Deleted’

Whether you deleted content by mistake or your account was hacked (yes, hackers love to dothat), you can now recover your content within 30 days. On the latest version of theInstagram app, during these 30 days, you can recover Posts, Stories and Reels just by goingto Settings > Account > Recently Deleted. From there you can either restore orpermanently delete them.

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Take away

Once you've mastered the benefits of Reels and Stories, you'll see that they arecomplementary and serve very different purposes. Moral of the story: consider Reels to getgrowth and Stories to deepen the relationship and get engagement.